Anka 3.1- Fully automated VM macOS installation & The Behavior-Driven macOS UI Automation Framework

We are very happy to announce the General Availability of Anka 3.1 for Apple Silicon / ARM macs. In this release, we are taking our approach to iOS CI automation one step further by introducing a Behavior-Driven macOS UI Automation Framework in Anka, enabling scripting and automation of any user interactions in your Anka 3.1 VMs. There are infinite possibilities for using this Behavior-Driven macOS UI Automation Framework to completely automate scenarios in iOC CI macOS environments, which still require user interaction like setup, configuration, user approvals, etc.

In Anka version 3.1, anka create powered by the new Behavior-Driven macOS UI Automation Framework creates a fully installed and completely usable Anka macOS VM (SIP disabled + VNC enabled) ready for iOS CI purposes. The Anka Packer Plugin’s create builder is also updated to generate immediately usable Anka macOS VM without user interaction. Users of Anka 2 on Intel machines are familiar with this process and can now utilize existing scripts or tools to create macOS VMs and install dependencies inside.

Other Anka 3.1 improvements which may interest you:

  • MacOS Ventura Beta support.
  • Network performance and security.
  • The new anka create –list command will display macOS versions available to target with anka create -a (which downloads the appropriate .ipsw and uses it for creation).

Anka Build for Apple Silicon Macs can be set up on-premise, with a hosted provider, or on AWS EC2 mac2 instances (read more about it here). If you want to try out Anka 3.1 on your mac laptop, you can set it up using our documentation and Getting Started scripts.

Check our release notes for more details on what’s included in version 3.1. We will also share more details and examples of using Anka’s Behavior-Driven macOS UI Automation Framework soon. Stay tuned!

Links to Videos

Creating Monterey VMs with anka 3.1 on ARM Macs

Creating Ventura Beta VMs with anka 3.1 on ARM Macs

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